Missing Items
by violet-phoenix-rose
Summary: Luna's things keep going missing,but someone keeps returning them. Who is it? And, more importantly, who sent her a Christmas package? Set during the third book.
1. Entries 1 through 5

Disclaimer: If you read about it in the books, it's not mine

A/N: I went off of a thing in one of the books or possibly the fifth movie, in which Luna mentioned that her things were always going missing.

Entry #1 - a few days after school started

I hate diary writing. All my possessions go missing at least twice a school year, and the fact that Dad, who frequently forgets that I'm twelve, gave me a really obvious diary for my birthday doesn't help. If anything, this'll be a target for the people who "borrow" my things. If I knew who they were, I'd write nasty things about them in here, but of course I don't. Lucky them, I guess.

Entry #2 – ten days or so later

I was dead-on, as usual. The day after I last wrote, this stupid diary went missing. Some girl in my year who's in a different House returned it to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if she'd read it too. I don't think she took it, though; how could she access my dormitory in the first place? And even if she could, I don't think she'd do it. Now I kind-of remember who she is. She's part of that red-haired family; there are about five of them, I think. Too bad I can't recall the names of any of them. Two of her brothers are ALWAYS in trouble, but they never do anything dreadfully stupid, just irrational stuff. Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that "irrational" is a favored description of me? Cause it is, and I'm sick of it. At least it's better than "crazy", which I get even more often.

Entry #3 – a month later, mid-October

No luck on figuring out who keeps "borrowing" my diary, or any of my other possessions, for that matter. My favorite pair of sneakers turned up today, though, after being lost since the day after school started. It figured they'd be attached to a chandelier in a third-floor hallway. At least nothing ever HAPPENS in that hallway, otherwise this would've become what the teachers refer to as an "incident", also known as what happens when it seems like someone has a vendetta against someone else. Welcome to my nightmare.

Entry #4 – two weeks later, around Halloween

As if the sneaker affair wasn't bad enough! Someone's having altogether too much fun "returning" my possessions. This morning, an owl crash-landed in front of me at breakfast, carrying one of my favorite shirts, a quill, and two of my more distinctive pairs of socks. This would have been okay if it hadn't splashed pumpkin juice on its parcel when it landed. If I ever find out who's behind this…

Entry #5 – later that day

I had to stop because SOMEONE (I have no idea who) had left a parcel for me outside the entrance to our House, and one of the girls in the year above mine fetched me so I could deal with it. It contained three more pairs of my socks and a book that I like reading, all of which had been missing for at least a month. The girl who fetched me stuck around as I opened it, and she thinks I have a secret admirer. I sincerely hope I don't, given that I'm not interested in boys yet. Oh well, let the older kids think what they may. I just hope that whoever's doing this doesn't reveal their identity before Christmas. I wouldn't put playing with mistletoe past some of the older girls.


	2. Entries 6 through 10

Disclaimer: If you read about it in the books, it's not mine

Entry #6 – mid-November

I'm hopeless about remembering dates. Because assignments are always "due on Monday" or something like that, and because my calendar was one of the first things to disappear this year, all I know is that it's the middle of November. Beyond that, I have no idea. One more mysterious parcel's come since I last wrote. The girl who's kind of looking after me said that some sixth-year handed it off to her with the instructions to give it to me, and the parcel looks like a lot of people have handled it. This much I know – the girl (I think her name is Padma) isn't the person who's being sweet and getting my things back to me. If I knew who handed her the package, I'd go bug them, but she won't tell me. Hiss…

Entry #7 – first day at school after Christmas

Two packages since I last wrote. One actually came by owl to my home during the break, which sent Dad off on a rant about how, if the person returning my things was any good, he or she would let me know who they are. The Christmas parcel contained a few wrapped presents for me as well as one of my school robes and my calendar. The presents were nice – a calendar, a box of toffee (my favorite type of sweet), and a pair of mittens that were clearly hand-made. Whoever's doing this had better reveal who they are now. I'm too curious for my own good, Mum always said, but so was she, and look what happened to her. I just want to know.

Entry #8 – next day

I think all my belongings are accounted for at the moment. A girl in my year, Rose something-or-other, handed me a parcel yesterday evening that contained my wand cozy and my last missing pair of socks. Oh, wait, my school scarf's gone missing since I got back here. Knowing my luck, it won't turn up till that poltergeist (I forget the demon's name) tries to strangle someone with it. Rose says she'll help me search after dinner. We'll do all the girls' dormitories and send her older brother, whose name escapes me, to do the boys' dormitories. If it doesn't turn up, I'm in for it.

Entry #9 – a few days before Valentine's Day

I didn't get around to writing over the past month or so because Rose and I have spent every spare minute looking for my blasted scarf and it still hasn't turned up. Her brother knows EVERYONE here, and even he doesn't know where it might be. We've taken to going through classrooms that aren't used much, but I highly doubt we'll find it in there. Padma (I did get her name right) has a twin sister in a different House, and the sister's been searching in there. Too bad there's no one nice in the House where the stupid scarf probably is.

Entry #10 – a week or so later

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, my least favorite holiday. To make it worse, my scarf turned up in a mysterious-looking parcel at lunch. No one gets packages at lunch, EVER. The person behind this is completely malicious. When I find out who it is, I'm going to make sure they know what I think of finding my sneakers hanging from a chandelier and getting parcels every fortnight or so from an owl who can't land without sending something flying. Hey, this gives me an idea. Next time I get a visit from the crash-landing owl, I'm going to attach a note to it and tell it to go back to its human. This is going to be fun.


	3. Entries 11 through 15

Disclaimer: If you read about it in the books, it's not mine

Entry #11 – next day

Rose is with me on the plan. We wrote the note yesterday after dinner, and I'm copying it in here after I finish this entry. Also, we placed a few items that are clearly mine in locations where they would appear lost – Rose's idea, not mine. Okay, here's a copy of the note:

To whoever is behind the mysterious parcels:

Thank you for returning my belongings. However, I request that you either let me know who you are or stop being so kind. Send your owl back with your answer.

Luna

Is this genius or what? Even if they won't tell me who they are, I'll have a sample of their handwriting, which Rose says will help us identify them. She came up with the phrasing of the note, too – one of her mum's cousins is an investigator of some type, and another is a lawyer, so she knows a fair lot more than I do about doing things like this. Okay, I know NOTHING. Her brother, Anthony, says we could use something he calls blackmail if we have to, but that sounds a little too mean. Not like Rose and I are going to be sweet little angels, cause we're not, but we're not stooping to the level of the person who "borrows" my things either.

Entry #12 – three days later

It's on. I got two pairs of socks back this morning, and I sent the owl back to its human with the note. Rose says that if I don't get a note back within a week, we should start over from putting my things in certain places and go on from there. That owl had better come back to me is all I'm going to say.

Entry #13 – six days later

I got an answer, which is pasted in here as follows:

L-

I don't know who's been sending most of the parcels before the one I sent you a few days ago. My sister's told me how you manage to lose almost everything at some point, so when I found two pairs of socks sitting randomly in a fourth-floor hallway, I thought they were probably yours. Haven't you noticed how you never get anything from the same owl twice?

Paravati Patil

So much for that idea. But yeah, I have noticed that every package I've received has come from a different owl. The question is, who sent me the Christmas package?

Entry #14 – a week later

I made a few more copies of the note and placed a few more of my things. The results are coming – slowly, but better than nothing. Two notes back so far, one from a girl in my year whom I have a few classes with (blast it all, I can't recall WHAT classes) and another from Rose's other older brother, whose name escapes me. Rose's best idea yet was to use socks as bait, since I don't think there's anyone else here at school who collects unusual socks. If there is, I'd love to know.

Entry #15 – middle of March

Still no answer about who sent the Christmas package. A few things Rose and I know about him/her:

He/she knows that I like toffee more than I like chocolate. Not like I don't like chocolate, but like I'm pretty sure I wrote earlier, toffee is my sweet of choice.

He/she knows where I live. Not such a hard thing to figure out, but it weeds out people who don't have family history here, if you get my meaning.

He/she either knits or has a good connection with someone who does. The mittens explain this.

He/she knows that my favorite color combination is pale purple and lime green. Again, the mittens explain this. Speak of which, I've been wearing them a lot lately, since Rose says it'll help. Lesson number one – don't argue with Rose.

He/she knows I like the ocean, since that's what all the pictures in the calendar are of. This is a little harder to guess, but not too dreadful.

So we're back where we started. Rose says we need to try different tactics to find the person who sent the Christmas package. We're not caring about the other parcels; we just want to know who cares enough to get me a Christmas present.


	4. Entries 16 through 20

Disclaimer: If you read about it in the books, it's not mine

Entry #16 – April 1st

Finally, I know the date! No surprise there, though, since the inner practical joker in everyone has come out today. I have an idea about who might be behind the holiday parcel – a boy a year above me who fits every detail Rose and I have come up with except knowing where I live. Rose says that knowing my location isn't too important, since the person could ask around and find out if he/she didn't already know. Whatever – as usual, the name of the person in question completely escapes me. Curses on my absent-minded nature!

Entry #17 – a week later

At least now I can remember the boy's name – unless I'm sorely mistaken, it's Evan Fitzpatrick. How do I know this, you ask? Because I heard two older girls gossiping about him and some girl whose name escapes me but who, if I remember right, is way out of his league. Love has got to be the worst feeling on the planet.

Entry #18 – the next day

The owl that delivered my Christmas parcel returned this morning with the following note, which Rose has pasted in here for all eternity (given her skill or lack thereof with Sticking Charms, that's probably the truth):

Luna –

Don't get me wrong, but I didn't send you any Christmas presents. Someone intercepted my owl and attached them. All I sent was a robe and a calendar that I found in the middle of a fifth-floor hallway. I'm the wrong person to go after if you want to know whom your parcels came from.

Evan Fitzpatrick

All I can say is this – if the person who sent me the Christmas presents doesn't give me any hints as to who they are by the beginning of May, I just might go crazy. Then again, if you ask a lot of the people in my year, I already am. Takes one to know one, I guess.

Entry #19 – two weeks later

I'm still off on a tangent, as Rose puts it, but now I have something else to be mad about – Rose's family is moving to America for a year or two so her dad can do some intensive job training or something along those lines. It figures that it'd take me a year and a half to find a friend here at school, and now that I've got one, she has to move. Mental note – see about getting an owl, preferably one with a personality, since those are cheaper if I remember right. Not like I'd want a boring pet, though.

Anyways, my Secret Santa (that's what Rose says people like that are called in normal places) hasn't full out told me who they are. However, at least two people have told me I should see about getting purple and green striped wrist-warmers to match the mittens. If a pair turns up, I'll know whom to ask.

Entry #20 – last day of school

Yeah, I know I haven't written in AGES, but first there was preparing for exams and then there was the exams themselves, which didn't go too badly other than accidently sending a pigeon that was halfway turned into a paperclip at that girl from the red-haired family during Transfiguration. She took it remarkably well, I guess, since I didn't get anything thrown at me in return.

The first piece of news is who sent the Christmas parcel – Rose, believe it or not. Yesterday, she handed me a pair of striped wrist-warmers and a matching school bag, and she told me she did it to make my life interesting. She succeeded, all right, but I didn't tell her that I think she was stupid not to have told me sooner, even though I wanted to. I think I've developed a smidge of self-restraint – someone stop me before it spreads!

The other news is that something really big happened last night. I have no idea what, though. Either way, the youngest boy in the red-haired family has a broken leg, and two of his friends are out of sorts. Can't wait to find out WHAT happened.

THE END


End file.
